Table of Contents

Survey of Consumer Attitudes and Behavior, Fall 1963 (ICPSR 3623)

Principal Investigator(s):
University of Michigan. Survey Research Center. Economic Behavior Program

Summary:

This survey was undertaken to assess consumer sentiment
and buying plans, as well as to gauge attitudes toward the atomic
test ban treaty and its implication for the business environment,
the tax reduction, the unemployment problem, and the automobile
market, and to provide information about geographic mobility
of adults of working age within different labor market areas.
Open-ended questions were asked concerning evaluations and
expectations about price changes, employment, recession, and
the national business situation. Additional variables probe
respondents' buying intentions for a house, automobiles,
appliances, and other consumer durables, as well as respondents'
appraisal of present market conditions for purchasing these
items. Other variables probe respondents' opinions of the
Cold War between the former Soviet Union and the West, the
nuclear test ban treaty, the proposed government tax
reduction, and the effect of all of these on business
conditions, as well as their assessment of their financial
status relative to the previous year. Also provided are
respondents' psychological profiles, their reasons for moving
within the different labor market areas, and their mode of
transportation when they moved. Demographic variables provide
information on age, place of birth, race, sex, religion,
education, marital status, occupation, and family income.

This survey was undertaken to assess consumer sentiment
and buying plans, as well as to gauge attitudes toward the atomic
test ban treaty and its implication for the business environment,
the tax reduction, the unemployment problem, and the automobile
market, and to provide information about geographic mobility
of adults of working age within different labor market areas.
Open-ended questions were asked concerning evaluations and
expectations about price changes, employment, recession, and
the national business situation. Additional variables probe
respondents' buying intentions for a house, automobiles,
appliances, and other consumer durables, as well as respondents'
appraisal of present market conditions for purchasing these
items. Other variables probe respondents' opinions of the
Cold War between the former Soviet Union and the West, the
nuclear test ban treaty, the proposed government tax
reduction, and the effect of all of these on business
conditions, as well as their assessment of their financial
status relative to the previous year. Also provided are
respondents' psychological profiles, their reasons for moving
within the different labor market areas, and their mode of
transportation when they moved. Demographic variables provide
information on age, place of birth, race, sex, religion,
education, marital status, occupation, and family income.

Access Notes

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for a diverse and expanding social science research community.

Universe:
All families living in continental United States
dwelling units, exclusive of those on military reservations.

Data Type(s):
survey data

Data Collection Notes:

The codebook is provided by ICPSR as a Portable
Document Format (PDF) file. The PDF file format was developed by
Adobe Systems Incorporated and can be accessed using PDF reader
software, such as the Adobe Acrobat Reader. Information on how to
obtain a copy of the Acrobat Reader is provided on the ICPSR Web site.

Methodology

Sample:
One respondent from each family unit in the
dwellings sampled, usually the head of the family, or the wife.
The dwelling units were selected by area probability sampling
from 74 primary sampling units. For each dwelling unit in the
sample, an interview was sought with a respondent from the
primary family and from each secondary family (if any). The
head of the family (usually the husband) was the preferred
respondent, but the wife could substitute if the head was not
readily available.